# Ryan Gravenberch

Ryan Jiro Gravenberch (born 16 May 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best young defensive midfielders in the world, he is known for his passing and dribbling ability.
Gravenberch began his career with Zeeburgia before joining Ajax, where he won three Eredivisie titles. In 2022, he signed for Bayern Munich, helping them win the Bundesliga. He transferred to Liverpool in 2023.
Gravenberch played for the Netherlands at various youth levels, and was part of the under-17 squad that won the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He made his senior debut in 2021 and represented the country at UEFA Euro 2024.

## Club career
### Ajax

Gravenberch joined the Ajax Youth Academy in 2010, and worked his way up through the junior levels. On 7 June 2018, he received the first ever "Abdelhak Nouri Trofee", which recognizes the best talent in the Ajax academy. He signed his first professional contract with Ajax that same day, keeping him at the club until 2023. Gravenberch made his professional debut with Jong Ajax in a 5–2 Eerste Divisie win over Dordrecht on 24 August 2018.
Gravenberch made his senior debut with Ajax on 23 September 2018, in a 3–0 Eredivisie loss to PSV. He became the youngest ever Ajax player to play in the Eredivisie at 16 years and 130 days, surpassing the record of 16 years and 242 days set by Clarence Seedorf. Three days later, Gravenberch made his first start for Ajax, scoring in a 7–0 KNVB Cup win against Te Werve, becoming the youngest goalscorer for the club in the process.
On 25 November 2020, Gravenberch scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–1 win over Midtjylland in the 2020–21 season.
On 18 April 2021, Gravenberch scored the first goal in a 2–1 win over Vitesse in the 2021 KNVB Cup final.

### Bayern Munich

On 13 June 2022, Gravenberch signed for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Ajax was a reported €18 million, with an additional €5 million in variables. On 31 August, he scored his first goal and provided an assist in a 5–0 win over Viktoria Köln in the DFB-Pokal.

### Liverpool

On 1 September 2023, the final day of the Premier League transfer window, Gravenberch signed for Liverpool on a five-year contract. The fee, officially undisclosed, was reportedly €40 million. On 16 September, Gravenberch made his debut appearance for Liverpool, entering as an extra-time substitute to replace Mohamed Salah in the 93rd minute of what would be a Premier League away victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 21 September, Gravenberch made a lengthy pass into the box to assist Luis Diaz, his first assist for Liverpool, during a Europa League group stage victory against LASK in which his side won 3–1. On 5 October, Gravenberch scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 2–0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise in the UEFA Europa League. Gravenberch started a number of games in the Premier League in October and November 2023 owing to the absence of regular starter Curtis Jones due to a suspension and then an injury. On 21 April 2024, Gravenberch scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 win over Fulham.
At the start of the 2024–25 campaign, Gravenberch was shifted by new coach Arne Slot to a more deep-lying midfield role. He won plaudits for his early-season performances in this new position, particularly for his dominance in a 3–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. He was widely praised by pundits for his performances in this new role.

## International career

Gravenberch was a youth international for the Netherlands. At the age of 15, he represented the Netherlands U17s at the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping his team to victory. At 16, he played for the Netherlands U19s in a friendly 4–1 loss to the England U19s on 5 September 2018.
He was first called up to the senior Netherlands squad in November 2020. He made his debut on 24 March 2021 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey. On 2 June 2021, Gravenberch was named in the Dutch squad for UEFA Euro 2020. Four days later, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 win against Georgia in a pre-tournament friendly match. At the tournament finals, Gravenberch appeared as a substitute in the team's second group match against Austria, and played the full 90 minutes in the third group match against North Macedonia.
On 4 September 2023, days after signing for Liverpool, Gravenberch declined a call-up to the Netherlands U21s for their European Championship qualification campaign. The team confirmed his absence was a choice to "focus on his new club", with national coach Ronald Koeman and U21s coach Michael Reiziger condemning the decision.
On 29 May 2024, Gravenberch was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024.

## Personal life

Gravenberch was born in the Netherlands to Afro-Surinamese parents. His older brother, Danzell Gravenberch, is also a professional footballer.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 27 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | 2 |
| Jong Ajax | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 6 |
| Jong Ajax | Total | Total | 44 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | 8 |
| Ajax | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Ajax | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Ajax | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 32 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 1 | — | — | 47 | 5 |
| Ajax | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 3 |
| Ajax | Total | Total | 72 | 7 | 10 | 4 | — | — | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 103 | 12 |
| Bayern Munich | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| Bayern Munich | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bayern Munich | Total | Total | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 2023–24 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 38 | 4 |
| Liverpool | 2024–25 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 |
| Liverpool | Total | Total | 55 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 2 | — | — | 79 | 4 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 196 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 260 | 25 |
* ↑ Includes KNVB Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
* ↑ Includes EFL Cup
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
* ↑ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Netherlands | 2021 | 10 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 18 | 1 |
    As of match played 19 November 2024
    Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gravenberch goal.
List of international goals scored by Ryan Gravenberch - :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 6 June 2021 | De Grolsch Veste, Enschede, Netherlands | 5 | Georgia | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

Ajax
* Eredivisie: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
* KNVB Cup: 2018–19, 2020–21
Bayern Munich
* Bundesliga: 2022–23
* DFL-Supercup: 2022
Liverpool
* EFL Cup: 2023–24
Netherlands U17
* UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2018
Individual
* Ajax Talent of the Future (Abdelhak Nouri Award): 2018
* Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2021
* Eredivisie Talent of the Year: 2020–21
* Johan Cruyff Trophy: 2020–21
* Eredivisie Player of the Month: March 2021
* Eredivisie Talent of the Month: March 2022
* Eredivisie Team of the Month: March 2022